How To Use Color Creatively

Printing ideas:

Use colored paper.Â When I say color, I’m not necessarily talking about printing all of your materials in color. You can print in black and white on a colored paper and still gain significant impact. If you do this, consider getting a unique paper from a paper manufacturer or mill – instead of just using the off-the-shelf colors at the office supply store. You’ll be more likely to make a distinct impression.

Use stickers. If you can only afford black and white printing, look into getting some color-printed stickers or labels. You can even get pre-colored labels and use them on your materials in interesting ways to add punches of color.

Go digital. Digital printing (through companies like psprint.com) is more affordable than ever – which means that you should be able to afford at least color business cards.

On the web, color is free. I’m not saying that you should go off your brand and go wild with your palette, but even if you can’t afford printing in color, you can establish a color palette on your website and on your Twitter page.

Using Color In Your Designs

Restrict your color palette.Â If you narrow your color palette to 1 or 2 colors, your branded materials can look very customized. Make sure one of your colors is dark enough to be used for legible text.

If it goes with your message,Â consider using the rainbow. Full-spectrum graphics are becoming more and more popular with the rise in consistency of digital printing – and the fall in cost. Don’t just use the whole rainbow because you can, though – use it because your business’s message is one of variety or energy.Â

Use color only in spots or in specific ways.Â You can really raise the impact of your materials by using just punches of color, instead of full floods of color across the whole page. Sometimes, less is more.Â

Choose interesting spot colors. If you’re printing on a press using Pantone colors (instead of digitally), you can consider metallic or neon colors. They won’t print right on a digital press, but the extra investment may be well worth it.